Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

or

Comment: NO highlighting/markings. Some wear, overall in good condition. Ships directly from Amazon.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured."

So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas---this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's peace," which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that's only the beginning.

He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident "doctor." With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karlas connections are murky from the outset.

Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

I loved this book, the story. I know nothing about India but now I know a lot about the soul of the people. This story is so personal and full of color and depth of character. Nothing was boring and each little story within the main story of the book was interesting and worthy. Each was a new learning experience. We learn as Lin learns. It is satisfying.There is no way you can truly understand Lin, his choices, love of danger and hold on constant living in a hyper warp life. Spoiling for a fight, living on adrenalin. He is exhausting and exhilarating. A wonderful read. I will read the sequel.

Brilliantly written, fascinating to the end, worthy of repeat listenings. Complex and moving story. Based on author's life experience. Takes place mostly in Bombay. It challenged many of my assumptions, which was a good thing. This review is based on previous listening, not the product I purchased through Amazon.

Is Gregory David Roberts a little pompous and full of of himself? Yes very much so, but despite his self aggrandizement he does bring up so great philosophical points, discussions, and aspects of someone who lives a life of feeling. Not many authors throughout history have been able to pull off that feat, so a little self congratulations is expected. He is no Hemingway, but at least he tries and pretty much succeeds at being intellectual...In a day when most authors pump out easy Young Adult fiction trilogies, this was an adult book for people who like the deep the end of the life.

933 pages of intensity. The book hooked me from the beginning with the author's vivid storytelling skills and I really couldn't put it down. I caught myself smiling and laughing out loud many times. About a third of the way through, I found myself struggling to stay interested. It almost felt like the book should have been broken up into 3 separate books because once he joined the army, it was hard for me to keep my pace. Still, if you are good at keeping up with the introduction of so many new characters, then you will have a great time getting lost in this book.

There is a lot of great stuff in this book (I read the book did not listen to the tape). Even if the similarities to the author's own life were not a matter of public record, it would be obvious from his in-depth perspective on cultures not well known simply by research, that he has lived amongst similar people to the characters in this novel. The protagonists time spent living in a Mumbai slum is a rich and varied account. The people of this slum are heroic and nuanced and their joys and sorrows are brought vividly to life. The time spent aiding the Afghan rebels during the Soviet's brutal occupation is fascinating. It is made more topical by our present war in that country. One wonders if the same men who fought beside him later became the oppressive Taliban. I love a good long well-written book, especially one set in India or Asia but that said, this one could have stood some editing. Yes the author has a gift for descriptive prose, but he seems to think he has to be Proust. Still I stuck with this book, the reward being the characters that are brought to life and the perspective given on worlds I will never know.

The prose is nearly Morrison's, so poetic it is, but it is all Roberts' own, too. Fully flowered, rapturous. It is a soaring accomplishment, epic and sorrowful and true, beautiful and tender and careful, thrilling and thoughtful. Unapologetic discourse on relationship, suffering, joy, change, and rumination. It is an exemplar, a defense, for literature. One of the very best books I've yet read.

This is a thoroughly remarkable book--an amazing story beautifully told. Roberts writes with a grace that is all too rare; i often found myself re-reading passages to savor the beauty of his words. The reader is immersed in the culture of Bombay, becoming privy to that city's beauty and its ugliness, and the beauty that somehow arises from the ugliness. The book is quite long, but it's a worthwhile investment of one's time. If you believe that writing should do more than narrate a tale, you will love this book.